Condition responsive indication assembly and method

ABSTRACT

A communications assembly includes a central processing unit and a plurality of portable communication assemblies. The central processing unit transmits central signals and for receiving remote communications from the portable communications assemblies. The portable communications assemblies are operatively connected to the central processing unit transmit the remote communications and receive the central communications. A communications hub is operatively connected between the central processing unit and each of the portable communications assemblies to control independent communication between the central processing unit and the portable communications assemblies. The central processing unit includes an incident identification module for receiving the remote communications and for identifying a portion of the remote communications from a portion of the portable communications assemblies as indicating a situation requiring a communication to be sent to the portion of the portable communications assemblies. The portion may include one or more than one portable communications assembly.

This patent application is a divisional of copending patent applicationhaving U.S. Ser. No. 14/517,385, filed Oct. 17, 2014.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to condition responsive indicating systems. Moreparticularly, the invention relates to condition responsive indicatingsystems that include personal portable devices, to be worn or carried byindividuals.

2. Description of the Related Art

The current landscape for monitoring and analyzing data to improvehealth and safety outcomes shows significant potential for improvement.For example, industrial safety has traditionally focused on threethings: (i) providing equipment for physical protection of the worker(e.g., hardhat, shoes, gloves, eye and hearing protection); (ii)training the worker to avoid possible safety incidents (e.g., seminars,certifications, on the job training); and (iii) auditing safety behaviorand taking corrective actions. Depending on the underlying industry,some form of interaction/communication between the worker and his/herenvironment is typically added to the safety equipment (e.g., radio,carbon monoxide monitor).

On average, an entity may expend thousands of dollars per person peryear on discrete health and safety equipment and training, which variesdepending on industry specific requirements. More recently, industrialsafety applications are increasingly using IT systems to improve safetyprocesses as well as tracking safety compliance. Those solutions areeither hardware solutions (e.g., PDAs, asset tracking) or softwaresolutions (e.g., certification and compliance tracking, safetymanagement dashboards).

All of the current industrial safety solutions, however, are facing onemajor issue: once the worker has received his/her equipment andtraining, the responsibility to comply with the safety standards remainswith the worker, depending on many cases on his/her experience andpersonal foresight on how to behave and react in a certain situation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A communications assembly includes a central processing unit fortransmitting central signals and for receiving remote communications. Aplurality of portable communications assemblies are operativelyconnected to the central processing unit to transmit the remotecommunications and receive the central communications. A communicationshub is operatively connected between the central processing unit andeach of the plurality of portable communications assemblies to controlindependent communication between the central processing unit and eachof the plurality of portable communications assemblies. The centralprocessing unit includes an incident identification module for receivingthe remote communications and for identifying a portion of the remotecommunications from a portion of the plurality of portablecommunications assemblies as indicating a situation requiring acommunication to be sent to the portion of the plurality of portablecommunications assemblies.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Advantages of the invention will be readily appreciated as the samebecomes better understood by reference to the following detaileddescription when considered in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic environmental view of one embodiment of theinventive assembly;

FIG. 2 is a side view in partial cross section of one embodiment of awearable device incorporating the invention;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the wearable device shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the hardware incorporated into the wearabledevice; and

FIGS. 5A through 5C illustrate a flow chart of the inventive methodrelating to the presence of hazardous conditions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1, a communications assembly is generally indicated at10. The communications assembly 10 facilitates communication between acentral processing unit 12 and a plurality of portable communicationsassemblies, which will be discussed in greater detail subsequently. Thecentral processing unit 12 collects all data and communication andpasses it to an applications platform 14. The applications platform 14may include such functions as data aggregation, data storage,notifications, alarms, location services, an analytics engine, reportgenerator, display and user interface. The central processing unit 12also includes a data storage facility 16, an application programminginterface (API) 18, an application binary interface (ABI) 20, and anincident identification module 21 (discussed in greater detailsubsequently).

Multiple copies of the central processing unit 12 are shown at 12′ and12″. These multiple copies 12′, 12″ of the central processing unit 12may either work cooperatively to increase functionality or independentlyto provide for system redundancy.

The API 18 provides for an extension of the central processing unit 12for the development and augmentation to the central processing unit 12of additional software applications. By way of example and as is shownin FIG. 1, a safety application 22 is connected to the centralprocessing unit 12 through the API 18. Two additional third partyapplications 23, 25 are also shown as exemplary modules that provideadditional function as deemed necessary by the specific deployment ofthe communications assembly 10.

The communications assembly 10 also includes a communications hub,generally shown at 24 in FIG. 1. The communications hub 24 isoperatively connected to the central processing unit 12 and receivescommunications through a communications bus 26. The communications bus26 may be local to the communications hub 24 or it may be local to thecentral processing unit 12 as it is contemplated that communicationbetween the communications hub 24 of the central processing unit 12 maybe through an electrical network or wirelessly through any wirelessprotocol deemed appropriate for the communication between thecommunications hub 24 and the central processing unit 12. Thecommunications hub 24 may include a plurality of central base stations24 a, 24 b, 24 c. These central base stations 24 a, 24 b, 24 c may actindependently of each other and may be located remote from each otherdepending on the deployment of the communications assembly 10 in theparticular environment in which it is deployed.

The central base stations 24 a, 24 b, 24 c communicate with remote basestations 28 a, 28 b. The remote base stations may be further distributedthroughout a particular environment in which the communications assembly10 is deployed. The remote base stations 28 a, 28 b collect data andgenerate notifications and/or alarms that will be passed on to thecommunications hub 24 and eventually the central processing unit 12,either directly or via the peer-to-peer mesh network. The remote basestations 28 a, 28 b serve as back up connections, given that theseremote base stations 28 a, 28 b could also be bypassed by having remotetransceivers connected directly to the central base stations 24 a, 24 b,24 c, as will be discussed in greater detail subsequently. A remotecommunications bus 30 may extend between the remote base stations 28 a,28 b and the central base stations 24 a, 24 b, 24 c.

The communications assembly 10 also includes a plurality of portablecommunications assemblies 32 that are operatively connected to thecentral processing unit 12 vis-à-vis the communications hub 24. Each ofthe plurality of portable communications assemblies 32 transmit remotecommunications to the central processing unit 12 through thecommunications hub 24 and receive central communications transmitted bythe central processing unit 12, which are also transmitted through thecommunications hub 24. As can be seen by bidirectional arrows 34, theportable communications assemblies 32 may communicate with each other ina peer-to-peer mesh network. Bidirectional arrows 36 show that theportable communications assemblies 32 may also communicatebidirectionally with the remote base stations 28 a, 28 b. And finally, abidirectional arrow 38 graphically illustrates the portablecommunications assemblies 32 being able to communicate directly with acentral base station 24 a of the communications hub 24. The portablecommunications assemblies 32 are designed to facilitate communication ina manner which optimally transfers data that will allow for the mostefficient data transfer and action, if necessary, based on the databeing delivered. The portable communications assemblies 32 also includea plurality of sensors that will sense conditions. The sensed conditionswill be communicated away from the portable communications assemblies 32to other portable communications assemblies 32 or to the centralprocessing unit 12, the central base stations 24 or the base stations28.

The incident identification module 21 receives the remote communicationsfrom the plurality of portable communications assemblies 32 andidentifies a portion of the remote communications from a portion of theplurality of portable communications assemblies 32 as indicating asituation requiring a communication to be sent to the portion of theplurality of portable communications assemblies. In one embodiment, theincident identification module 21 identifies when a situation arisesthat, based on the readings received in the remote communications, mayaffect the individuals wearing the portion of the plurality of portablecommunications assemblies 32 that are producing those remotecommunications. By way of example, if a portion (one or more) of theplurality of portable communications assemblies 32 measure high carbonmonoxide levels, the incident identification module 21 will issue awarning that the central processing unit 12 transmit back to the portionof plurality of portable communications assemblies 32 that eithermeasured the high carbon monoxide levels or are in close proximity ofthose so those individuals know to immediately leave the area.

The communications assembly 10 also includes a plurality of chargingstations 40. The charging stations 40 may be dispersed throughoutdisparate locations within the environment in which the communicationsassembly 10 is being deployed, or may even be worn by individualscarrying one of the plurality of portable communications assemblies 32.The charging stations 40 will either charge an energy storage device,such as a battery, built within the portable communications assemblies32 or will be able to charge an energy storage device that is removablefrom the portable communications assemblies 32. Design parameters willdictate how the energy storage device will be connected to the portablecommunications assemblies 32, which may include battery size, theparameters within which the portable communications assembly 32operates, and/or the environment in which the portable communicationsassemblies 32 are being deployed.

Referring to FIGS. 2 through 4, the plurality of portable communicationsassemblies 32 are more specifically shown. In a preferred embodiment,the portable communications assembly 32 is a wearable device 44. Morespecifically, the wearable device is shown as a hardhat 44, and whilethis example will be used for the remainder of the description, oneskilled in the art should appreciate that the wearable device may beanother article of protective clothing or merely clothing and still bewithin the scope of the invention.

The hardhat 44 includes additional hardware that allows the portablecommunications assembly 32 to communicate with the central processingunit 12, its peer portable communications assemblies 32, remote basestations 28, or the central base stations 24. The hardhat 44 includes ahard outer shell 46 with a hard bill 48 to which a visor 50 may beattached. The visor 50 is transparent to allow the individual wearingthe hardhat 44 to see therethrough. An adjustment belt 52 is adjustableusing a tensioning device 53 that allows the hardhat 44 to be worncomfortably but securably by the individual assigned to that hardhat.

A control unit 54 is affixed to the wearable device 44. A biometricsensor 56 is electrically connected to the control unit 54. Thebiometric sensor 56 is also affixed to the wearable device 44 in amanner such that the biometric sensor senses a condition of theindividual wearing the wearable device 44. The biometric sensor 56senses the condition and creates a biometric signal that is transmittedto the control unit 54. The portable communications assembly 32 alsoincludes an environmental sensor 58 that is electrically connected tothe control unit 54. The environmental sensor 58 is also affixed to thewearable device 44 in a manner such that the environmental sensor 58senses an environmental condition local to the individual. Theenvironmental sensor 58 may be spaced apart from the individual. Theenvironmental sensor 58 creates an environmental signal and transmitsthat environmental signal to the control unit 54. A communications unit60 is electrically connected to the control unit 54 and transmits thebiometric and environmental signals from the control unit 54 to alocation remote of the wearable device 44. As is shown in the example inFIG. 1, the communications unit 60 will transmit the biometric andenvironmental signals away from the portable communications assembly 32to either another portable communications assembly 32, a base station 28a, 28 b, and/or a central base station 24 a, 24 b, 24 c of thecommunications hub 24. By the wearable device 44 having a communicationsunit 60 therein, the portable communications assembly 32 may communicatewith other portable communications assemblies 32, or a centralprocessing unit 12 of a communications assembly 10.

The portable communications assembly 32 includes a power supply 62 thatprovides power to all of the elements of the portable communicationsassembly 32 that require power. The power supply 62 may be removablesuch that power supplies may be interchanged allowing the individualwearing the portable communications assembly 32 to continue performinghis or her functions by merely swapping out the power supply 62 withanother one.

The portable communications assembly also includes the user interface 64to provide information to the individual wearing the portablecommunications assembly 32. The user interface 64 may be a radio or someother form of audio communication. In addition, the user interface mayinclude a haptic device or vibrator 66 and/or a visual communicationdevice 68 fixedly secured to the bill 48 or visor 50 of the hardhat 44.

The visual communication device 68 may be a set of LEDs that providedifferent colored lights to indicate if there are certain occurrences orother events that require the individual wearing the wearable device toknow the status. In one example, a green light may indicate that all ofthe systems are operating and there is no issue with any of the readingsbeing taken. A yellow light may warn the individual that something maybe occurring that will require the individual's attention. And finally,a red light may indicate that the individual has to take prompt actionto avoid or avert a situation that may be potentially dangerous. Forexample, a red light may indicate to the individual that a carbonmonoxide sensor has identified high levels of carbon monoxide in aparticular area and that the individual must leave that area as soon aspossible.

Additionally, the visual communication device 68 may include a heads updisplay that could display data in a manner that it appears to be on thevisor 50 of the helmet 44. The data could be the light codes discussedabove, alphanumeric messages, visual images, or any combination thereof.

The portable communications assembly 32 also includes a linking port 70allowing the portable communications assembly 32 to be electricallyconnected to another portion of the communications assembly 10 allowingit to electrically download any information that is stored locally onthe portable communications assembly 32. The linking port 70 would beelectrically connected to a storage device 72 that would store the datacollected by the biometric 56 and environmental 58 sensors. (Examples ofa biometric sensor 56 include a heart rate sensor 56 a, a bodytemperature, an oxygen level sensor, a blood pressure sensor, and thelike. Examples of an environmental sensor 58 include a carbon monoxidesensor 58 a, an ambient temperature sensor, a radiation sensor, apressure sensor, an noxious fumes sensor, an accelerometer, and thelike. These lists are intended to be exemplary and are not to beconsidered in any way limiting.)

The wearable device may also include a camera 74 that may take images orvideo as seen by the individual wearing the portable communicationsassembly 32 which could be stored in the storage device 72 orcommunicated back to the central processing unit 12 of thecommunications assembly 10 via radio communication 64 or thecommunications unit 60.

Referring specifically to FIG. 4, a schematic representation of theportable communications assembly 32 is generally indicated. The userinterface 64 includes such elements as a visual display 68, an audiooutput 80, the haptic actuator (a vibration actuator) 66 and anemergency light 84. As discussed above, the visual display 68 may beshown upon the visor 50 of the hardhat 44. The audio output 80 may be aspeaker for voice transmission or for an alarm. The emergency light 84may be a strobe light. The user interface 64 includes switches,potentiometers and alarm switches 86 and a video camera/microphonecombination 88 (only a video camera 74 is shown in FIG. 3). Thesedevices 86, 88 provide information to the central processing unit 12 ofthe communication assembly 10. A bidirectional audio interface allowscommunication between the individual wearing the wearable device 44 andthose that may be stationed at the central processing unit 12. Inaddition to the biometric 56 and environmental 58 sensors, a locationand contact sensor 92 may provide inputs into the control unit of thewearable device 44 that provide where the wearable device 44 is. Othersuch sensors may identify how fast it is going, its location andorientation through uses of accelerometers and gyroscopes, RFID sensorsand GPS. Input and output controllers 94 control the flow ofcommunication.

The storage device 72 in the portable communications assembly 32 mayinclude onboard firmware 95, onboard flash storage 96 and redundantflash storage 98. Communication controllers 100 control thecommunication between all of the different systems that are going to beused to control the communication between the wearable device 44 and thesurrounding communication assembly 10. The portable communicationsassemblies 32 may include several different types of transceivers tofacilitate as much communication as possible. By way of example, atransceiver may include a WiFi transceiver 102, a GSM transceiver 104, aBluetooth® transceiver 106, an RFID transceiver 108, a ZigBee®transceiver 109 and/or a satellite transceiver. It should be appreciatedby those skilled in the art that other types of transceivers may be usedwithout avoiding the scope of the inventive concepts disclosed herein. Asystem bus 110 provides communication between all of these units.

The power supply 62 is more specifically shown to include powermanagement circuits 112, a primary detachable and rechargeable battery114 and a redundant detachable and rechargeable battery 116.

Referring to FIGS. 5A through 5C, wherein circled letters connect flowchart lines between FIGS. 5A and 5B, a method for communicating betweena central processing unit 12 and a plurality of portable communicationsassemblies 32 is generally indicated at 200. The method begins at 202with the powering on the portable communications assembly 32.Initialization in the starting of the method then begins at 204. Sensorsin the system are initialized at 206. A stored onboard configuration 208is input into the system when it is loaded and the notification settingsare set at 210. A power test is run at 212. It is then determinedwhether the power on test was successful at 214. If not a notificationis indicated at 216 and the portable communications assembly 32 isstopped at 220. This is done for each of the plurality of portablecommunications assemblies 32. Communications are then transmitted fromeach of the plurality of portable communications assemblies 32 to thecentral processing unit 12. This is done at step 222. The sensors arethose that are the environmental 58, biometric 56 and contextual 92sensors. The device status is also transmitted. Notification from thecentral processing unit 12 is also transmitted. Notifications from otherremote portable communications assemblies 32 are presented and if anyuser manually presses an SOS button, it is also presented. The data isreceived by the central processing unit 12 at 224. An event queue 226identifies and labels each received communication, sensors are read at228, and all of the data is normalized and prioritized based on theparticular configuration at 230. The prioritization of the data followsthe table shown in FIG. 5C.

If it is determined that a notification is to be presented locally to anindividual portable communications assembly 32, it is done so at 232.The notification may be audio, visual or haptic at 234. The memorydevice 72 stores the notification and logs it in its database. A localnotification 232 will occur when it is identified that a portion of theplurality of the portable communications assemblies 32 sendcommunications indicating a conditional threshold has been met.

It is then determined at 236 whether the event was generated locally. Ifnot it is determined whether the remote notification is from the basestation or its peers at 238. If the event was generated locally at 236,the event is sent to the base station at 240 where it is also logged onthe onboard storage 72. If the event generated was done so remotely, itis then determined whether the event needs to be rebroadcast to a largerportion of the plurality of portable communications assemblies 32regarding the threshold limit status at 242. If so, the broadcast of theevent as notification to peers in a larger portion of the plurality ofportable communications assemblies 32 is done at 244. If the event wasdetermined not to be needed to be rebroadcast to its peers (242) it isdetermined whether an SOS button was pressed at 246. If not, theportable communications assembly 32 returns to the data acquisitionsubroutine of the method at 224. If the SOS button was pressed at 246, aSOS alarm condition is sent at 248. The SOS alarm is continued to besent until the device is reset at 250. This method 200 continues untilthe device is turned off.

The invention has been described in an illustrative manner. It is to beunderstood that the terminology, which has been used, is intended to bein the nature of words of description rather than of limitation.

Many modifications and variations of the invention are possible in lightof the above teachings. Therefore, within the scope of the appendedclaims, the invention may be practiced other than as specificallydescribed.

We claim:
 1. A method for communicating between a central processingunit and a plurality of portable communications assemblies, the methodcomprising the steps of: identifying each of the plurality of portablecommunications assemblies with the central processing unit; transmittingcommunications from each of the plurality of portable communicationsassemblies to the central processing unit; receiving communications froma communications hub operatively connected between the centralprocessing unit and each of the plurality of portable communicationsassemblies to control independent communication between the centralprocessing unit and each of the plurality of portable communicationsassemblies; identifying a portion of the plurality of portablecommunications assemblies that is sending communication indicating aconditional threshold is met; transmitting threshold limit communicationto the portion of the plurality of portable communications assembliesregarding the threshold limit status; and rebroadcasting the thresholdlimit communication to more than the portion of the plurality ofportable communications assemblies when the conditional threshold isdetermined to affect more than the portion of the plurality of portablecommunication assemblies.
 2. A method as set forth in claim 1 includingthe step of broadcasting the threshold limit communication to a group ofthe plurality of portable communications assemblies local to the portionof the plurality of portable communications assemblies.
 3. A method asset forth in claim 2 wherein the group of the plurality of portablecommunications assemblies is at least as large as the portion of theplurality of portable communications assemblies.
 4. A method as setforth in claim 3 wherein each of the plurality of portablecommunications assemblies communicate with each other and the centralprocessing unit.
 5. A method as set forth in claim 1 includingmaintaining communication between the plurality of portablecommunications assemblies after the step of transmitting the thresholdlimit communication.